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Dr. Kenneth Womack, Professor, English, Music and Theatre Arts

Kenneth Womack, Ph.D.

  • Professor of English and Popular Music

Department: English, Music and Theatre Arts

Office: Woods Theatre 209

Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 2:00-4:00 p.m.; and by appointment.

Phone: 732-263-5450

Email: kwomack@monmouth.edu


Kenneth Womack is one of the world’s foremost writers and thinkers about the Beatles. In addition to such titles as Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), the Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), and The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four (2014), he is the author of a two-volume biography devoted to the life and work of Beatles producer George Martin, including Maximum Volume (2017) and Sound Pictures (2018). His book, Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles (2019), was feted as the go-to book by the Los Angeles Times for readers interested in learning about the band’s swan song. His most recent book, entitled John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life John, was published in September 2020. He is also the author of four novels, including John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010), The Restaurant at the End of the World (2012), Playing the Angel (2013), and I Am Lemonade Lucy! (2019).

Womack serves as the Music Culture critic for Salon, as well as a regular contributor to a host of print and web outlets, including Slate, BillboardTimeVariety, The Guardian, USA Today, The Independent, NBC News, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Womack also serves as the Founding Editor of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, published by Penn State University Press, and as Co-Editor of the English Association’s Year’s Work in English Studies, published by Oxford University Press. Over the years, he has shared his work with public libraries and community organizations across the nation, as well as with audiences at Princeton University, Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution, the Grammy Museum Experience, and the 92nd Street Y. He has also served as an expert commentator for ABC’s 20/20 and NBC’s Access Hollywood.

Education

Ph.D., Northern Illinois University

B.A./M.A., Texas A&M University

Research Interests

Womack’s areas of professional interest include the Beatles, 20th-century British literature, and creative writing. He serves as editor of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, published by Penn State University Press, and co-editor of the English Association’s Year’s Work in English Studies, published by Oxford University Press.

Courses

Recently Taught Classes

2023 Spring

  • Fiction Workshop – EN 611
  • Life and Work of Bruce Springsteen – MU 326
  • Manuscript Seminar – EN 644

2022 Fall

  • Creative Writing: Fiction – EN 252
  • Introducing the Beatles! – MU 227

2022 Summer B

2022 Spring

  • Contemporary American/British Literature – EN 542
  • Life and Work of Bruce Springsteen – MU 326
  • Manuscript Seminar – EN 644

2021 Fall

  • Introducing the Beatles! – MU 227
  • Seminar in English – EN 491

2021 Summer B

  • Legal Fictions: Literature and the Law – EN 225
  • Rock and Roll in American Culture – MU 290

2021 Spring

  • Creative Writing: Non-Fiction – EN 255
  • Manuscript Seminar – EN 644

2020 Fall

  • Craft of Writing – EN 352
  • Introducing the Beatles! – MU 227

Frequently Taught Classes

  • Introducing the Beatles! (MU 227)
  • Legal Fictions: Literature and the Law (EN 225)
  • Life and Work of Bruce Springsteen (MU 326)
  • Manuscript Seminar (EN 644)